VoIP technology is based on the integration of the internet with telephony applications, equipment and networks. In essence, voice data is transmitted over the net in digital form instead of the analog signals that go over public switched telephony networks (PSTNs). This Voice over IP technology makes the traditional phone and landline redundant, since it only needs the internet and a special broadband phone.
Technology: The technology is based on converting voice signals that are analog into digital packet data that conforms to the Internet Protocol or IP. These digital packets can then be transferred over packet-switched networks such as the internet, and other LAN and WAN networks. At the other end, the digital packet data is again decoded and converted back to analog signals.
By converting their data into little packets similar to the data flowing on the internet, Voice over IP providers are able to piggyback on internet infrastructure and bypass the telecom companies’ PSTN networks. Voice signals can be transmitted to any place on earth which has internet connectivity. All it needs is a broadband phone with the required voice codecs to convert analog signals to digital data and vice-versa.
The user is required to have an ADSL modem and internet line, along with an active internet account with a local ISP. In other words, there should be broadband internet available for use. The VoIP phone looks just like a cordless phone, although it can also be software installed on a computer and used with the mike and earphones of a headset.
Usage: A computer is not necessarily required to operate the phone, if the broadband phone is purchased. Note that a computer may still be needed once for the initial installation and configuration of the phone. Apart from buying the high-tech phone, using Voice over IP is about the same as using a landline phone – just dial, talk and listen, and hang up when the conversation is over.
Features: VoIP phones offer most of the standard services and features available to subscribers of normal land lines and mobile phone networks. This includes caller ID, voice mail, call waiting, forwarding and transfers, three-way calls, etc. Accounts can be managed online, and the calls made with prepaid credits and topups, or postpaid on a monthly basis.
Calling rates: The free and cheap phone calls are probably the biggest advantage of using VoIP phones and technology. Calls between these phones on the same network are always free, since it is the same as two people chatting on the internet using computers. When more people start joining these Voice over IP networks, more and more calls will become free.
Even calls made to landline or mobile phones outside the provider’s network are a lot cheaper. National and international calling rates for VoIP can even be 50% lower than landline rates. The costs of using Voice over IP phones will go down even more once traditional telecom companies start routing the majority of their voice data through the internet to reduce the cost and load on their old congested networks.
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